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Top 100 Films #95. Buried (2010)

Buried is one of those rare horror films that attempts something different. Horror is full of conventions and cliche and repeated concepts and Buried is a film that has a risky concept that could fail to keep the audiences attention for 90 minutes. One setting, one actor is a novel concept and it works.

Buried starts with Ryan Reynolds waking up in a coffin with just a Zippo lighter and Blackberry with a limited battery. The story unfolds to Ryan Reynolds character to try and find out why and how he was buried and whether he can escape or not.

A very simple concept that results in a film that is jam packed with tension. Being buried alive is feared by many, It tracks back to old tales of people being buried then waking up with no contact, no one to hear you and there you die slowly as the air slowly diminishes. That single fear is the backbone of this whole film. The Hitchcock inspired horror is a masterpiece of light and camera trickery.

If you wasn’t claustrophobic before this film, I guarantee you will be by the end. The tight camera shots and limited lighting pushes the viewer in the coffin with Ryan Reynolds. This is not an easy film to watch, but it is not meant to be. It’s a fantastic achievement to keep the attention of the audience for 95 minutes with just one actor, one location and a single plot. I sat there watching the film feel like I was running out of breath, feeling locked in and had an uneasy nausea watching this film. This may not sound like an attractive way to sell a film but that is what this film wants you to feel. It wants you to feel buried.

This is another refreshing horror that attempts something different and the director and Reynolds works perfectly here. It is a thrilling ride that becomes a wondrous experiment that I believe is overlooked. I would easily put this film in the top 20 horror’s of all time. The whole experience is horrific and that is fantastic. I implore anyone to give this a viewing because you will probably not enjoy it but if you want to be scared for 90 minutes and feel like you are buried alive, this film will do it for you. Buried is an underrated classic that attempts something different and risky and it achieves it.